Biodiversity and society: Interlinkages explored in the IPBES Nexus Assessment

The 11th Plenary session of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) took place in Windhoek, Namibia in December 2024. With the approval of delegations representing 147 countries, the event saw the unveiling of the so-called Nexus Assessment. It is the purpose of this critical document to map out how biodiversity, water, food, health and climate are in a state of constant interdependence. 

A landmark endeavour by 165 experts from 57 nations that took three years to complete, the compilation of this report is perceived as a means to address a substantive issue at the heart of global policy-making. This is namely the silo-based mindset governing crisis management, or the lack of shared understanding on the links defining planet-wide emergencies. The document thus seeks to emphasise the importance of placing individual problems in a more general context that accounts for their complex interactions with one another. It is thus asserted that a sophisticated socio-environmental nexus must be the starting point in any meaningful discussion on addressing large scale crises, be they in nature or society.

Within the Assessment, intersections between such issues are reviewed against the backdrop of a singular negative trend - the declining biodiversity rates inherent in ecosystems across the globe. In this sense, the document’s authors single out how little attention is afforded to the very indirect economic drivers that damage the Earth’s biosphere to the greatest extent. Instead, priority is given to strategies for more immediate monetary returns, with sustainable long-term practices remaining a secondary concern. Overall, the Assessment estimates the annual cost of this mentality in markets in the range between 10 and 25 trillion U.S. dollars, with natural habitats and human communities alike suffering as a result. Inequality underpins this conclusion on the human side of the equation - around 50% of the global populace are particularly at risk as a result of the ubiquitous biodiversity crisis.

On the whole, the report supports the view that uncovering the numerous key points of overlap, intersection and connection between society and nature is a necessary initial step on the road to effectively reversing environmental and human emergencies alike. This conclusion is reached on the basis of multiple complementary studies that seek to create insightful simulations of future trajectories in tackling planet-wide challenges. Nevertheless, they indicate that piecemeal solutions that reflect only a segment of the complex web of relations will not be enough and may in fact be just as detrimental as the absence of any synergistic understanding. Taking account of the causal nexus in its entirety is what the authors ultimately see as the only reliable solution to the biodiversity crisis.

For the media release on the Assessment, click here. A summary for policy-makers can be found on this page.